


Green

by TheJadeSongbird



Category: RWBY
Genre: Glynda loses her temper and fixes everything., Multi, Post V3, unrequited pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 08:50:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6277786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJadeSongbird/pseuds/TheJadeSongbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glynda Goodwitch has had /enough of this bullshit/.</p><p> </p><p>Heavily inspired by Wicked (Musical and Book)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green

 

**\--Prelude--**

While they’d made fairy tales of the facts, Remnant—conversely-- believed in all sorts of things that weren’t true. Despite the popular opinion—Glynda Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin were not, in fact, an item. Oh, the world certainly had its own beliefs. Gossip rags ran stories spawned from simple trips to the coffee shop on third street (a place that managed to serve excellent scones), and the rumor mill all but broke down when the Headmaster brought his Combat Professor flowers for her birthday.  
  
Lilacs. Her favorite.  
  
They weren’t a thing. But that didn’t mean for one moment that Glynda Goodwitch was not—in fact—in love with her boss.  She was, and she hated the fact—if only because she was absolutely sure he didn’t feel the same way.  
  
Then again, who had time for love in wartime?  
  
**\--Goodbye--**  
  
Beacon was home, and now it was in rubble around her. Smoke and ash billowed into the streets, piled high with the wreckage and dusty remnants of discarded Grimm.  
  
The clock tower at the top of the school was not only dimmed, but destroyed completely.  Even if they rebuilt, it would never shine the same again. It wouldn’t provide the same hope or protection that she’d associated with safety.  
  
Beacon _had_ been home, her only home for over twenty years. It had been her first home since she’d taken to the streets when Grimm had stormed the small village she’d grown up in. Grimm that had killed her parents, torn down buildings and created fear in the hearts of those around her.  
  
It was some sort of irony—she supposed. The townsfolk of her home village had been auraphobic as _fuck_ , labelling her _witch_ and _Grimmspawn_ despite the fact that her powers made her anything but. In the end, it wasn’t the Grimm that had driven her out, but the people scared of what they couldn’t understand.  
  
That home was gone, and now, so was this one. Qrow assured her that Ozpin had escaped, missing that he was.  
  
Missing. That word made her heart hurt and took any breath out of her lungs.  It made her head spin when Qrow spoke of moving forwards, of locating Ozpin. Of going to Mistral after the Queen.  
  
Qrow, who had apparently been appointed ‘leader’ of this ‘Brotherhood’ in absence of Ozpin.  
  
“Fuck that.” The words were bitter and icy, spat as she turned and stomped away—eyes burning with unshed tears.  
  
“Glynda—“  
  
“Hey Goodwitch—come back!”  
  
She ignored the calls of James and Qrow, disappearing into the crowd.  
  
**\--The Wicked Witch of Vale--  
**  
The first warning sign to her should have been the fact that she was the last to know about the Maidens. She was, in fact, the last to be inducted into Ozpin’s inner circle—a ‘Brotherhood’ so to speak.  
  
She’d scoffed internally at that. Too much testosterone in a name—it was hardly inclusive. Then again, what was she, the only woman, to say to that?  
  
The second sting was a confidence, late at night when both professors were doing paperwork with coffee and tea respectively.  
  
_“I thought for the longest time that you were the Maiden of Spring, you know.”  
  
“Oh?” She’d managed to keep her voice from sounding strangled. She wasn’t. He would have told her if she was—she would have learned earlier if she was, about all of this.  
  
“Yes, but in the end, that wasn’t the case.”_  
  
She’d had to resist the urge to yell at him. To cry. To try and bury the traitorous thoughts that made her wonder if his curiosity had been the only reason he’d befriended her.  
  
Glynda didn’t. She couldn’t.  Especially when she was desperate not to be left out. She hated secrets—feeling like she was being kept in the dark. She’d lied to James when he confided that he felt that he was being kept secrets from. They both were—she was sure of it.  
  
The third warning sign was that he didn’t _listen._ _None of them did!_  
  
Glynda Goodwitch had never once approved of the idea of using Pyrrha Nikos as the next Fall Maiden.  
_  
“She’s a child—not a huntress! Not an adult!”  
  
“The peace we’re holding is fragile, Glynda. It’s not long until it breaks.”  
  
“She. Is. A. Child!”  
  
“Pyrrha Nikos has already dedicated herself to the path of a huntress. To helping the world. What is this—“ He’d turned to face her. “—but another facet of that? And as always, she has the option to say no.”  
  
Glynda clenched her fists at that.  
  
“You know damn well that she won’t say no. That she’ll feel obligated due to every attention heaped on her to help because she thinks she has no other choice. That the world has no other choice._ ”  
  
Ozpin had said nothing at that—and in the end, that was the final sign.  
  
Because Ozpin never once told her that Cinder Fall and her lackeys were in Beacon. That they’d disguised themselves as students.  
  
Qrow had known though, and James had certainly grown suspicious enough to realize such. They’d known and she was left in the dark.  She was left alone, home gone, best friend and her heart gone. Her road of good intentions led where such roads _always_ lead  
  
And he’d picked _Qrow Branwen_ to lead the charge. He’d picked a drunk huntsman with a tendency to drop off the map and a bloodlust a mile wide to make the next decision, and her only thought was--  
  
_Why him? What did I do wrong, that you didn’t think you could trust me?  
  
What do Qrow and James have that I don’t?  
  
_ In the end, the answer stung. She was a teacher, and they were out in the world—taking on its evils headfirst. It made her feel like she’d been doused in ice—veins set on fire.  
  
She was _not_ _that girl._  
  
Her response was simple.  
  
_Alright, enough. So be it! So be it then._  
  
“ _I’m not that girl, but by dust—you’ll get her. “_  
  
One didn’t need an illusion semblance to change their appearance. All it took was a pair of contacts—two shades of green darker to a piercing emerald—and a bottle of  WizCo-Emerald-Elixr-brand black hair dye.  
  
That night, two days after the Battle of Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch goes MIA.  
  
The next morning, the papers announce that multiple locations across Vale have been torn apart—now discovered as White Fang bases.  
  
The destruction is accredited to a rogue element who left her signature on the scorched earth.  
  
_Elphaba Verre  
  
**\--**_ **The Ice Princess--** _  
  
_ Her first act as Elphaba Verre, after blowing the major Valean White Fang bases off the map, was information gathering.  
  
More specifically, in Atlas. There was no way that they’d managed already to ferret out all of Fall’s links in the networks. That was fine—better for her. It allowed her to slip in undetected.  
  
_Thank dust there were back up channels set up—limited as they were. With the CCT down, it would have been impossible otherwise.  
  
_ Her probe gathered a decent amount of information—some communications from Ozpin to James and Qrow that she’d basically already figured out by now, some information about the process of aura transfer that she noted down.  
  
After all—Cinder Fall was still out there.  
  
She was almost finished when she noted a frantic strain of messages from the SDC to Ironwood. Curiosity peaked, she opened a related security video linked to it.  
  
_“Sir, there has to be some way to get her back to Vale!”  
  
“Winter, Beacon is gone. Even if I had that authority-- there’s no place for her to go to.”  
  
“Her teammates! Her friends!” Winter Schnee looked panicked. “General, Weiss is going to waste away here—out of worry or being smothered by my father. This is /not/ a healthy environment for her!”  
  
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”  
  
“But—“  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
_ … … …  
  
“I fucking hate children.” A sigh as she closed her scroll. It was a lie, of course. She wouldn’t have taught them if that was the case. _  
_  
She wouldn’t be breaking into the compound to pull Weiss out of there if that was the case. Even with all the amped up security, it was startlingly easy to knock out a guard and use their scrollmap to find the Heiresses’ window—using her telekinesis to propel herself up the side to the windowsill.  
  
A tap on the window, and it flew open—Myrtenaster pointed at her face.  
  
“Who are you and how did you get up here?”  
  
“Elphaba Verre. I hear you want out of Atlas—back to your team?”  
  
“How did you get up here?” The girl repeated, wavering only slightly.  
  
_Good girl. Of course I’m probably an enemy.  
  
_ “Anti-Gravity semblance.” She said lightly. It was easy enough to pass off her own for such. “Would. You. Like. To. Go. To. Vale?”  
  
Weiss’s expression wavered once more.  
  
“Why should I trust you?” Elphaba simply held up her scroll and played the tape of Winter and Ironwood. “…let me get my bag.”  
  
Atlas wouldn’t realize she was long gone until morning. By then, Weiss was on the doorstep of that little house in Patch—promptly moved to see the still unconscious Ruby and mourning Yang.  
  
Ah. Yang. Yes. That reminded her of a certain _little shit_ she had to go deal with for dis-arming her student.  
  
**\---The Cat--**  
  
_Adam Taurus  
Major General of the White Fang  
Age 20  
Faunus  
Semblance—Unknown. Suspected ability to absorb energy and/or cut through Aura  
Engage at own risk.  
  
_ He wasn’t a total unknown before the Battle of Beacon. That being said, he had a nasty habit of killing everyone in his way—if he didn’t play with his victims first.  
  
It was disgusting—absolutely revolting. Remnant would be better with him gone.  
  
She probably should have been concerned with her own sudden bloodlust—Elphaba just didn’t care enough.  
  
This war had to end before it could really start.  
  
She found him in the ruins of Mountain Glenn—appropriate as this was where the war truly started. She noted quickly, however, that she wasn’t the only one stalking him.  
  
Amber-gold eyes had spotted her from the shadows, already reaching to draw Gambol Shroud.  
  
“I wouldn’t do that, Miss Belladonna. Our target is just as perceptive as you.” For once, she didn’t adjust her voice to hide her identity. Elphaba was crass, less restrained. Glynda Goodwitch was her opposite. Blake’s eyes widened.  
  
“You’re---“  
  
“Yes, and I’d prefer if you kept that fact quiet. It makes it ever so difficult to solve issues.”  
  
“What’s going on?”  
  
“I’ll tell you after. In fact, I’ll tell your whole team. I’ve already rescued Miss Schnee from Atlas—she’s with your friends at the moment.” Blake seemed to flinch.  
  
“Yang—“  
  
“Will be fine.” She assured her. “Let’s deal with Taurus first.” Blake, surprisingly, hadn’t complained about the help.  And in the end—it was a lot easier to fight him two-against-one.  He’d expected Blake to show up, vengeance for the loved one he’d tried to murder.  
  
Elphaba, frankly, thought he hadn’t realized just how much Blake loved Yang—because people in love who’s loved ones got hurt were _dangerous.  
  
_ Karma was cutting off his fighting arm within the first minute of combat. Vindictiveness was Elphaba sending him careening against the wall, breaking at least three bones in the process.  
  
Bittersweet was Blake being too emotionally connected to kill Adam herself, and asking Elphaba to make the final blow.  
  
That was fine with her. This wasn’t the last red that would stain her ledger before this ended, even if it did clash heavily with the green.   
  
Ruby was awake by the time Elphaba and Blake appeared on the doorstep, awake and very aware of the exploits of Vale’s ‘Wicked Witch.’ She listened though—so did Yang after some coaxing. Elphaba, wearily, sat team RWBY and Taiyang down and explained it all. She told them about the Maidens, about Cinder and Pyrrha.  
  
They were just as indignant as she’d been.  
  
“They asked a _kid_ to take on a monster?” Taiyang was livid. “She would never have said no! She couldn’t have in good conscience!”  
  
Elphaba couldn’t help but laugh at that.  
  
“Funny. That’s what Glynda Goodwitch said.”  
  
**\--The Lion--**  
  
Taiyang, like Blake, knew who she was. And Taiyang, like Glynda, knew what it was like to love someone who didn’t feel the same way.  
  
There was no _almost_ when people said that Taiyang had loved _almost_ his entire team. The Scarecrow just didn’t have the brains to see it.  
  
“You’re going after him, aren’t you. Ozpin.” Glynda curled into his side on the guest bed, sighing.  
  
“I hate feeling like this Taiyang.” She said. “I feel like I shouldn’t. He didn’t tell me anything in the end. He didn’t trust me enough—no matter what the others will undoubtedly say.”  
  
“Love sucks. Especially when the people attached on the other end are idiots.”  
  
“But they’re our idiots.” Taiyang laughed at that.  
  
“Yeah. Even if one is a cryptic bastard and the other is not-so-secretly dating the Tin Man.”  
  
“James and Qrow are dat---of _course they fucking are_. “  
  
“I have some whiskey, want some?”  
  
“Dust yes.” They’re a bottle gone when she poked his shoulder. “Want to come with me?”  
  
They both knew that the girls were too sick with wanderlust to stay in one place for long.  
  
“Let me think about it, okay?”  
  
“Sure, Lionman. Sure.”  
  
**\--The Torch--**  
  
He doesn’t come with her at that point. Team RWBY is still on Patch for the moment, and the remnants of Team JNPR had joined them a few days before.  
The look of anguish and rage on Jaune Arc’s face when they’d been filled in on the situation had nearly driven her to tears. She couldn’t blame him.  
  
Pyrrha had been _That Girl_ for him, he was _The Boy_ for her.  
  
The least she could do for him was remove the threat of Cinder Fall for him.  Tracking her was the most difficult thing she’d done to that point. The Queen, by now, _knew_ she was coming—chances are she probably knew who she was.   
  
That was fine with her. Elphaba picked up the game where it had been left off by the wayward wizard—and as long as Fall wasn’t bored, she had a better chance of succeeding. Bored meant that she was more likely to throw a wrench in—tug the puppet strings on the world around her just to make her dance in circles.  
  
There were enough circles already. She’d walked enough of them to know when she needed a new plan, and after two months of trying to figure out not just the _where_ of Cinder Fall, but the _why_ , Elphaba decided to try a new tactic.  
  
Vale was still rebuilding, but the shadier parts of town had been miraculously untouched in the invasion. She pressed past the bouncer, stepping into the club and wincing faintly at the overwhelming sheen of light reflecting off the dance floor. A quick glance around told her that she’d have to look for the owner if she wanted what she needed.  
  
Crossing the floor, the people around her seemed to stop and stare. She was well enough known by now that trouble was Verre’s new middle name. The owner, Hei ‘Junior’ Xiong  looked up from where he was pouring drinks, setting down a bottle as his eyes narrowed.  
  
“Elphaba Verre. Vale’s ‘Wicked Witch’.”  
  
“I don’t have time for pleasantries. _Where’s Roman Torchwick?”_  
  
Silence. Ah. Junior’s eyes narrowed, while the woman in the seat next to her—a girl with pink and brown hair, stiffened.  
  
“Dead.”  
  
“Liar.” A click, and she swiftly dodged the sharp end of a concealed blade. The girl next to her had her parasol pointed at her. “Neopolitan, correct?”  
  
No response. Then again, her sources suggested that the girl was mute.  
  
“I just want to speak with him.” Elphaba said calmly. “I’m hunting Cinder Fall—“ She was forced to dodge again. The name of the current Fall Maiden seemed to enrage the girl, causing her to lash out.  
  
“That’s not the name of anyone we want sniffing around here.” Junior said. “What do you want?”  
  
“I want to know _why._ “  
  
“And how should I know that?” The man of the hour himself. Elphaba craned her neck to look through the door into the back of the bar. A tired looking Torchwick leaned against the doorframe there. “I worked for her, but it’s not like she told me a damn thing.”  
  
“They say that the gutter rats hear the most interesting of conversations.” She said simply. Torchwick seemed to find that funny, laughing under his breath.  
  
“Alright, alright.  Lower the parasol, Neo.” Neo looked heavily reluctant to do so, but complied. “I don’t know much about the _why_ , but she did seem to imply she had a boss or something.”  
  
“Someone with more bullshit power than her?” Elphaba looked incredulous. “We’re doomed.”  
  
Another laugh from Torchwick.  
  
“Never got a name, but if some woman is able to get that kind of respect from Cinder? I’d run and never look back.”  
  
“Just another person to fell I suppose.”  
  
“Your funeral.”  
  
**\--The Queen--**  
  
It took Elphaba months of maneuvering and passive aggressive moves on the chessboard before they stood face to face.  In a non-surprising turn of events, they met on that grassy path where Cinder had all but killed Amber.    
  
Cinder Fall was smirking.  
  
“Glynda Goodwitch. Tell me, does Ozpin know that his right hand has become this? A thief in the night, an assassin? Does he know what blood stains your hands?” She was baiting her, Elphaba knew it.    
  
“No more than what stains yours.”  Cinder shook her head, holding out a hand. It glowed, aura twisted and violent. Glynda had met Amber once, before all of this. Her power had never felt like _this.  
  
_ Perhaps it was the intent that made all the difference.  
  
“This power…it burns like a gnawing hunger, not unlike bloodlust.” She tilted her head. “Can you feel it, Glynda? The more lives you take away, the more it calls to you? We’re not so different after all.”  
  
“We’re nothing alike.”  
  
“Aren’t we though? Two people—given powers by circumstance with the chance to become greater. Both mentored by the greatest powers on the chessboard.”  
  
“I am nothing like you.” Elphaba said, voice unwavering. “And I never will be.” The smirk on Cinder’s face didn’t disappear.  
  
“We’ll see. Emerald. Mercury. This fight is mine.” The Queen’s bishops stepped back, and Elphaba noted the look of wary fear on Emerald’s face.  
  
_Ah. I can work with this.  
  
_ In all honesty, Cinder Fall was stronger than her. Elphaba didn’t have bullshit magical powers. She didn’t have a benefactor to plan out strategies for her or give her advice.  
  
She did, however, have the solemn and determined goal to slap Ozpin in the face when this was over and done with—and she couldn’t die until she’d done that.  
  
Elphaba had patience. She took every attack that Cinder threw at her and used her semblance to twist it—to shift the blows to either miss her or redirect back at the Maiden. It was a very Pyrrha Nikos strategy--maybe that was why she chose it.  
  
Cinder, as the battle continued on, grew more and more frustrated. Her attacks became heavier—sharper—as her temper rose.  
  
“Why won’t you _DIE!”_  
  
“I have things I need to do. I’m not allowed to.”  
  
For all of her strengths, Cinder Fall, in the end, was still young. Elphaba had years of experience on her, and that made all the difference, when the battle ended with the Witch standing above her. Emerald and Mercury moved to interfere, but were blocked by a telekinetic blast.  
  
“So you’re going to kill me? Take my powers?” Silence. “We’re still the same. That won’t change a thing.”  
  
“You’ve made a mistake, Cinder Fall.” Elphaba said.  
  
“And what’s _that?”_ The witch picked up the bow that Cinder had been using, nocking an arrow and pointing it at her heart.  
  
“I’m not the one who’s going to be getting your powers. _Emerald is.”_  
  
Emerald’s breath hitched from behind them and Cinder’s gaze flicked upwards to her just as the arrow pierced her chest and she dissolved to dust. The power of the Autumn Maiden passed over Elphaba’s shoulder, settling around the girl behind her.  
  
“If you’re smart, you’ll drop this quest of Fall’s and stay out of both my way and that of my students.”  
  
Silence, but when she turned around, the two were gone.  
  
**\--The Scarecrow and the Tin Man--**  
  
When she returned to Patch, team RWBY had left already.  
  
Qrow and James were there though. Their first reaction was a fight response—they didn’t see through the disguise right away and thought she was an intruder. It took Taiyang walking into the room and explaining things to get them to calm down.  
  
Elphaba’s first thought had been to run—not wanting to deal with them. She’d gotten this far without them after all.  
  
_They were your friends. Are you listening to yourself right now?  
  
They also let Ozpin keep me in the dark.  
  
Did they know he was?  
_  
“So, I hear you killed Cinder.” Qrow took a pull from his flask. “How?”  
  
“Through the heart with one of her own arrows.” She said simply.  
  
“You inherited her powers?”  Elphaba looked up at James for a moment before shaking her head.  
  
“I tricked her into transferring them to her subordinate, Emerald.” There were squawks of surprise. Taiyang said nothing.  
  
“What the hell did you do that for, Glynda?” Qrow demanded. “How do you know she won’t just go off and finish what her boss started?”  
  
“She won’t.”  
  
“Glynda…”  
  
“ _Shut up!”_ Both James and Qrow froze. “ _Don’t tell me what to do!_ I am not a _child_ you can lead around by the hand! I was sick of being in the dark—I didn’t even know that she was in the fucking _school!_ Neither Ozpin or either of you told me anything, and now you expect me to sit back and _wait? Fuck. That!”  
  
_ She’s shaking, fingernails making her palms bleed.  
  
“I could have done something if I had known. There would have been _something_ …” Her voice cracked. “Why didn’t you just trust me? What did I _do?_ ”   
  
Taiyang sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her as she burst into tears.  
  
_Don’t wish. Don’t start. Wishing only wounds the heart.  
  
_ She dreamed that night of silver hair and warm brown eyes. She dreamed of the smell of coffee and the feel of warm hugs.  
  
When she woke, she was alone.  
  
**\--The Dragon--**  
  
Taiyang came with her this time—even though they weren’t going far. Elphaba had taken Ozpin’s cane from Qrow and the two had trekked to the ruins of Beacon and the top of the destroyed tower where the Grimm Dragon was frozen.  
  
“You want to kill it.”  Elphaba twisted the handle of the cane, unlocking the mechanism that allowed the sword concealed inside to be pulled free.  
  
“I can’t rebuild Beacon with it here.” She said. “And I figure that the easiest way to attract the attention of Cinder’s boss—kill her pet?” Elphaba paused over the spot she knew that Pyrrha had fallen, tilting her head in a moment of remembrance for the girl she’d desperately never wanted to get involved.  
  
“You want to rebuild Beacon?” She looked up.  
  
“It’s not just a school. It’s a home. And there will be people who will need it.”  
  
“And who will lead this school? Ozpin again?”  
  
“ _Me.”_ She said. “I will. Will you help me?” The grieving lion tilted his head at her and laughed.  
  
“You want me to teach teenagers?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“We’ll see.” He looked up at the massive dragon. “How are you going to kill it?” Elphaba lifted the sword, pressing its tip to the head of the Grimm.  
  
“Simple.” She closed her eyes, glowing a faint purple.  
  
_Grimm have no soul. They’re dark. How do you kill shadows?  
  
Light.  
  
_  
  
“ _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality_.” She began, the glow of her aura spreading through the sword and wrapping around the dragon. _“Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee.”  
_  
The dragon shuddered, cracking through its paralysis, before dissolving into dust and light.  
  
When she opened her eyes, however, the landscape had changed around her to a wasteland of rock and rich purple crystal.  
  
**“Interesting. You killed the dragon.”** A woman stood in front of her, tall with hauntingly pale skin and eyes like Grimm. **“Glynda Goodwitch, is it? Ozpin, you didn’t mention she was so capable.”  
  
** Her breath hitched, and she looked up. There was Ozpin, standing just past the Grimm Lady.  
  
He paled.  
  
**\---UH OH--  
**  
“FUCK THAT SHIT!”  
  
**\--OH DEAR--**  
  
Glynda promptly gathered all her aura and slammed it at the woman, picking her up and bulldozing her through a cliffside.  
  
Taiyang, behind her, started laughing maniacally. Ozpin just stared at her in shock.  
  
“Gl—ynda?”  
  
“FUCK THAT SHIT! I HAVE SPENT MONTHS TRACKING THIS IDIOT DOWN AND I AM NOT DEALING WITH SOME HOLIER-THAN-THOU BITCH WITH A CHESS FETISH! NOPE!”  
  
**“HOW DARE YOU—“  
  
** “HOW DARE I? LET ME CLEAR SOMETHING UP FOR YOU PRINCESS!”  
  
SLAM.  
  
“NO, I WILL NOT SIT PRETTY AND WAIT FOR THE BAD GUYS TO MONOLOGUE!”  
  
SLAM.  
  
“YES, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THIS ANGRY!”

C R A S H.  
  
“I. AM. SICK. OF. THIS. BULLSHIT!”  
  
“Glynda, I think she’s dead.” Taiyang said. “You literally just slammed her through two mountains.”  
  
“Good.” Viciously. She turned to face Ozpin, who was gaping like a fish.  
  
It was kind of cute.  
  
_No, Glynda. Stop.  
  
_ “And _you!”_  Glynda stomped forwards, having to grab Ozpin by the lapel in order to keep him from fleeing.  
  
“W—Glynda—I—“  
  
She slapped him across the face before grabbing his other lapel and tugging him into a searing kiss.  
  
“If it wasn’t obvious, I’m in love with you.” She said as she pulled away, breath heavy. “And when we get out of here—I’m taking over Beacon. No objections.”  
  
Ozpin just nodded.  
  
**\--Epilogue--**  
  
“The path of a hunter is not a romantic one. People die every day. You might die. Your friends might die. There will be some people that you will fail to save.”  
  
“So why do we do it? Everyone has a different reason.”  
  
The office had changed when Beacon was rebuilt. The clock gears were gone, replaced by hanging lights of various colour and intensity. Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch had filled the space more than her predecessor—glass and metal replaced with wood and comfortable cushions.  
  
It made working in the place more tolerable—numbed the pain somewhat.  
  
“I fight in hopes that there will be a generation that never sees conflict. A generation where no one dies from Grimm or person. That is why I fight.”  
  
“What about you?”  
  
The elevator clicked, revealing a figure with silver hair and tired brown eyes. Glynda looked up from her desk, expression neutral.  
  
It had been six months since they’d last spoken. The black hair dye had long since faded. Elphaba Verre was dead.  
  
“Ozpin.”  
  
“Glynda…”he began, pausing after a moment. “I’m sorry.” She said nothing. “I should have told you everything, should have trusted you. I never once wanted you to think that I didn’t _care.”  
  
_ “You still told me nothing.” She still doesn’t know who that woman was. “Pyrrha Nikos is still dead.”  
  
“…I know.” He said, bowing his head. “I know.” Glynda watched him for a long moment, before waving him forward.  
  
“Then tell me.”  He took a seat on the couch and did so. When he was done, there was silence on both ends.  
  
“I…see.”  
  
“I know—I should have told you and I understand if you never want to see me ever again—“  
  
“And kill my own heart? I don’t think I could do that.” It was a bit blunt, but spending months on end being such wore off on her.  
  
“…you meant that? That….”  
  
“Would I lie?”  
  
“N-no—“ He looked away. Glynda sighed.  
  
_I know you don’t feel the same way…  
  
_ “I love you too.” She looked up.  
  
He was blushing faintly. “I thought…that you weren’t interested…”  
  
Glynda stood, moving around the desk and pulling him into a kiss.  
  
He tasted of coffee.  
  
“You taste of vanilla and lilacs.” He murmured when they pulled back.  
  
“Dust, I love you.” Ozpin grinned and pulled her in for another kiss.  
  
_Fin._  



End file.
